Do you know the best part of being a werewolf?
You probably think it's about that strength, speed, and heightened senses that come naturally—and shifting between human and wolf form, which is as effortless as breathing. Or maybe you think it's about wounds that heal in hours, sickness that's a foreign concept, and mind-linking.
But then, you might be wrong.
Is there anything better than that assurance that you must be loved? People do crazy things to keep a lover—who most times ends up leaving—but a werewolf doesn't need to go through that hassle for love.
Before your birth, the Moon Goddess already paired you up with your soulmate, usually called your mate. So the moment you come into the world, your connections are entwined but invisible until you turn the ripe age of seventeen.
Then, even if the whole world despises you, there's always that one person ... or two or three or even four or five who'll look deep into your eyes and confess how much they can't live without you—and say you mean the world to them.
At least, that's how it's supposed to be. But fate doesn't really play by any rules. In fact, it defaulted so much in the life of Raine Anthony, the last and illegitimate daughter of Gemma.
Her fate was so different because she was born as a Dusk Wolf.
Dusk Wolves are rare and often feared werewolves born during an eclipse. Pack elders believe they are touched by both the light and darkness, making them unstable and unpredictable. Some myths even say they are cursed by the Moon Goddess, while others claim they are destined to bring balance between warring packs.
Unlike normal werewolves who shift at will, Raine struggled to control her transformations. The first time she attempted at the age of sixteen, she flickered between human and wolf form unexpectedly and ended up getting stuck in a painful, half-shifted state. She almost died but her mother spent all she had to save her.
And now, when she was at the ripe age of seventeen, she didn't think she would find a mate again. At seventeen the other teenage she wolves had already found their mate.
Above all, Raine was not able to speak.
She could hear, but there was no means for her to voice out her own thoughts. She couldn't tell if she was born that way or if it came suddenly
She had no idea that she was a child that should never have been born—and probably the only one in the pack who defied the mate rule. For at eighteen, she was still unable to shift or scent her mate.
From the moment she was born, her father had never visited. No one knew about her except her mother
She had no scent which made it impossible for pack members to be aware of her existence.
Unfortunately she still hoped to get a father's love — her waitress mother, who often did room services for extra cash, always told her he was busy and would come see her one day.
So she hoped, loved, and grew up with that anticipation buried in her heart .
"Bring her in!"
Gemma Anthony's voice echoed in the hall, Raine smiled beautifully — for all her struggling, her weeping, and her wailing when she was abducted a few hours ago ended the moment she was told that it was her father that had sent for her.
She stared innocently at the white-bearded man, wondering if she looked more like him or her mother.
She looked closely for that warmth, that smile, that nod and assurance that would certainly prove to her that he cared. And that all those years he was just really so busy to visit his own daughter, like her mother claimed.
As long as she's loved by her father or at least .her existence is acknowledged by him, even though no one else ever loves her—even if the moon-goddess also denied her a mate—she was fine with just her father's love.
She happily locked her eyes to his In order to mind-link her words to him.
"Papa" Raine smiled with tears in her eyes.. She finally got to say the words she had practiced all her life.
Gemma Anthony wrinkled his nose. "Ughhh. She's even mute!"
She ignored his disgusted facial expression and ran to embrace her father.
Honestly, she understood that he had no smile seeing her or tears of guilt. No one would be very proud of having someone like her as a daughter after all.
She understood that he wouldn't want to be seen around a dusk wolved girl old enough to be his daughter, but atleast no know was watching except his men and her mother.
She understood right until the hands she had hoped would wrap around her in an embrace pushed her heavily to the cold floor and grabbed her hair hard, forcing her look up at him.
"Who are you calling Papa? Me? Come on Don't be delusional, little girl!. I, Gemma Anthony, have always disowned you as my daughter. "
Raine's brows drew together in confusion. She couldn't believe what her father had just said.
"Papa, please listen to what I have to say.. I " she said.
"Would you stop using that word on me? Gosh! , you frustrate me so much! You've been dead to me all along and you should have never been born!" Gemma Anthony retorted with a wrinkled nose.
Raine's gaze left her father to look at her mother like a deceived child.
Her mother who was holding back her tears with two hefty men at each side of her arms gripping her forcefully, looked away immediately.
She searched for an explanation.
He had had no time to visit her and she had come to him herself.
Why did he look upset?
But her mother's expression made her more confused.
" Why are you such a cruel monster? Your daughter just wants to be loved like every other child. I'm still patient enough to not have disclosed her existence to anyone. You will be doomed for your ruthlessness"
"Go ahead and say what you want, Katherine. It won't change a thing. I have a lot of children from my mate and I don't need an extra who's even a weakling. A useless dusk? Gosh, you are kidding me. Go on, tell them she's the Gemma's illegitimate daughter? Who would believe you?"
"Just let her be then... I promise not to bring her up to you anymore. Or threaten you with her existence. We just needed money. Raine deserves quality education and training like other kids."
"It's too late, Katherine. You brought this upon your own child."
Raine immediately fell on her knees with her tears soaking her father's shoe.
This wasn't the kind of get-together she was expecting.
She opened her mouth to plead for a chance, but words just wouldn't come out of it. Tears welled in her eyes as she vigorously shook her head, her whole body trembling.
Hearing those conversations broke her so heavily that she felt her heart being ripped out of her chest.
What's so wrong with wanting your father to recognize you as worthy? To love you and acknowledge your existence even though he does the opposite in public? All Raine needed from her father was a hug of acceptance.
But she still hadn't understood how wicked the Gemma was. And how much greed he had harbored secretly in his heart while pretending to honor the values of Zephyros Isles.
He crouched at his feet and forcefully raised Raine's jaw.
"I told you, there's absolutely no need to be sad about this, girl. What would you have me do? Keep a curse in my bloodline? I might not have other children but I need money badly. Selling one of my old abandoned stock isn't a crime. Besides, I'm not sure about you being my biological kid! "
"Please Gemma Anthony, don't be cruel to her" Katherine pleaded but was ignored.
"You are cursed, don't you know that? Your mother didn't hint you about that? Being born during the eclipse is a very big curse—that whoever associates with you is doomed. Don't worry, I will keep it a secret from your new owner. I'm planting you to destroy them anyways. "
"O! She's just a child," Katherine cried.
Gemma Anthony scoffed and threw his daughter's jaw out of his grip. "An eighteen-year-old is a child? Well, I won't argue with you since she doesn't even have the slightest capability of an adult werewolf."
He walked slowly away from Raine and stood impermissibly close to Katherine while staring at her huge boobs and kissable lips. He tried to kiss her, but Katherine threw her face away.
"Right, you wouldn't let me have you again," he said and withdrew a little.
"Katherine, think about it. Your pain started the moment you decided to go against my wish and keep her. You are doomed because you are with her. She's a cursed child, you have suffered a whole eighteen years and I'm like that savior, extending my hand to grab you out of that pit of misery. Even if you hesitate, I will still save you."
Katherine spat in his face.
His men tried to fight back but he lifted his hands, signalling them to let her be.
"You've become a monster, Anthony. But please don't hurt your daughter too. Do you even know her name?"
"Who cares? She's getting a new name anyway and I'm going to place her as a curse to one of those rivals of mine inside."
"Just let us go, please. We will run far away, I swear you wouldn't see us ever again," Katherine pleaded, her heart hurting her badly for she blamed herself for ever being a mistress to her previous master, Lord Anthony.
"Take care of her," Anthony said to his men before he forcefully dragged Raine like a stubborn dog into the auction hall.
The entire crowd erupted in cheers at his presence.
Raine's stomach twisted as she glanced around, her heart hammering in her chest.
The faces before her were those of powerful Alphas, their Betas, and wealthy bidders.
They all gathered for the most anticipated event of the year:
The Werewolf Gathering Auction.
This was the third time such an event had ever been held in Ashgard, drawing in some of the most ruthless and influential figures from both Valdoria and the human world.
Here, money held absolute power, and there was nothing—absolutely nothing—that couldn't be bought for the right price.
Sex slaves? Gold? Relics? Estates? Luxury cars? Weapons? Even living, breathing creatures were bartered away like mere objects. Humans and werewolves alike were sold without hesitation.
Raine's blood ran cold as she processed what was happening.
Her father, the esteemed and merciless Gemma Lord Anthony, stood proudly at the podium, his voice echoing through the vast hall with authority.
He had been the orchestrator of these auctions for years, and he ensured that the most valuable commodity fetched the highest price.
Her fingers curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought against the rising panic.
How could he do this? Humiliate and reject her like this? And without batting an eye, sell her off.
Raine swallowed hard, her pulse becoming erratic as she met the hungry gazes of the bidders, each of them assessing her like old perverts. She knew exactly that they would turn her into their sex slave.
"We have a special one today. You can call her Orange," Gemma Anthony said after thinking of the perfect name for the only orange-haired girl in the hall.
"600 dollars," someone declared.
"She's still breathing! That price can't even get you any dead human!" he snapped without an ounce of guilt.
"She could die on me any minute. I'm offering so much because of how pretty she looks. And tender. And her unique hair suits her. I could cut that and sell. I won't promise to go easy down there though."
People laughed at his comments and he waited till everyone calmed before he continued.
"I'd only promise to give her a grand burial."
The laughter continued until another familiar voice interrupted.
"60,000 dollars!" Lord Gabriel's voice echoed from behind, and everywhere became still.
No one dared to gamble price with him because he would eventually get exactly what he wanted, and he could make you pay so high that you would go bankrupt and later on steal the prize from you.
Raine's heart pounded in her chest as she processed the number. 60,000 dollars.
Was a dusk wolf really worth that much?
Her father smirked in satisfaction, clapping his hands once.
"Well, well… looks like we have a winner," he snarled.
"No one else dares to challenge Alpha Gabriel?"
The room remained still. No one would dare.
Slamming his palm on the podium, "Sold," Gemma Anthony declared.
Raine's mind raced. She couldn't let this happen.
Her fate was already horrible in her father's hands; what awaited her with a stranger could be even worse.
Her gaze darted to the guards flanking her, their attention momentarily focused on Lord Gabriel as he stepped forward to claim his prize. Since she had been sold, the rope around her wrist was cut loose.
A sudden loud crash rang through the hall. The chandelier overhead swayed dangerously, glass shattering as it slammed into the ground, scattering debris and plunging part of the hall into darkness.
It was as if the moon goddess was smiling at her again. Raine didn't hesitate. She twisted her wrists, using the distraction to yank free from the loosened rope, ignoring the sting on her skin.
Then she ran.
"Get her!" a furious voice rasped out.
"Don't be in such a hurry. She won't be able to leave this place anyway," the Gemma assured.